Would you risk everything to save a stranger?Off the coast of Venice lurks Poveglia, the world’s most haunted isle, steeped in centuries of innocent blood. A deranged doctor who took great joy in torturing his patients in life continues to rule his abandoned asylum after death.Few go to Poveglia willingly, but medium Kate Carlsson has no choice. It’s her job.While struggling to retrieve a young … struggling to retrieve a young girl’s soul, Kate uncovers some shocking truths about the evil on the island that challenges her own convictions and morals—and even her life.
Is saving Lily worth making a deal with the infamous Doctor of Death, or is the price too high to pay?
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4.5/5
Here we are! Book Two in Moncrieff’s absolutely fantastic GhostWriters Series!
‘The Girl Who Talks to Ghosts’ picks up sometime after the events of Book One.
This one is focused more on Kate and her role as a medium. Since Book One has ended, she has worked on building a career out of helping people with issues regarding spiritual contact.
It’s through this that she is contacted to help out a mother, desperate to find a solution to what is afflicting her daughter.
What I Liked: As with all Moncrieff books, J.H. creates characters with amazing depth but also settings that play an important role. Here, Poveglia itself is a setting that brings a lot of different elements to the table.
I won’t spend much time going into Poveglia and it’s history itself, but a lot of bad things have happened there throughout history. J.H. touches on a few of them and the amazing aspect here is that the descriptions come from her own journey to visiting the island itself.
This has elements of a psychological thriller, supernatural adventure, as well as character driven drama. J.H. really crafted a fun read, one that brought another element to Kate and Jackson’s relationship.
What I didn’t like: Minor things, but I really wished we would’ve dived even deeper into the doctor’s back story and life on the island.
As well, at the beginning, I wasn’t a fan of Kate being so jealous of Jackson and a perceived relationship. Felt a bit too high-schoolish.
Why you should buy this: Well, A – Poveglia. I mean, any book set there is a must read. B – a further entry into the ongoing adventures of Kate and Jackson is always a cause for celebration! With a bunch more books already out in this series, the GhostWriters group of stories may just be the perfect thing for those looking for spooky October reads!
This is the second in a series and switches the main supporting character from the first book to the MC role and vice versa. Kate has taken on an unusual case, even for her, and calls on Jackson for support. They again find themselves traveling outside the U.S. and soon realize language barriers and currency exchanges are the least of their worries.
For the first time, Kate isn’t trying to help a ghost, but the soul of a living girl trapped in between both worlds and Kate is figuring out what to do along the way. I love the way Kate is portrayed as confident and strong and yet willing to admit her mistakes. While Jackson is the muscle and charm of the pair, it’s clear that Kate is stronger in other ways that often ends up saving their lives. Jackson is also a source of distraction for Kate as they both recognize their potential for a romantic relationship.
Considering the times we live in, I feel it important to list this potential relationship as a possible trigger for those who haven’t read the first book because it would be an interracial relationship. For me, it’s simply another layer to their already complex and enjoyable story. Besides, romance is in no way a major or even minor subplot in this series so far.
This book was a lot scarier than the first, but because I read the first book, it helped me cope with some of what I read. For some reason, whether books, film, or TV whenever kids are thrown in, it always feels creepier. Yet, as someone who’s still on the fence about horror as a regular genre to read, I did find the frights to be sophisticated and meaningful, not just gory for the sake of it or all shock value.
I have the next book in the series and look forward to seeing where these characters go next.
Highly recommended to horror, suspense thriller, and paranormal fans.